St-Joseph 2020: report and top-scoring wines

Gorgeous lifted fragrance, at once peppery and floral. Bay leaf aromas from the stems. The fullest in body of Domaine Rouchier’s reds, but still only medium-bodied. Lightly grippy tannins provide some good textural matter on the palate. Not hugely concentrated or powerful, it’s juicy yet savoury. Expressive, and aromatically abundant.

Dense black fruit overlaid with violets - very much in the Mauves style of Saint-Joseph. Peppery and spicy. Full-bodied without heaviness, this feels dense but not overly thick. Tannins are chalky but melting, like 100% pure cocoa. The oak is a little more pronounced than with Les Granits, but it's well integrated. Lifted finish. There's intense concentration and deep, dark tannins, but it's all very well balanced. May prove to be the vintage yet of Le Clos.

Not as explosively aromatic as Faury's Hedonism cuvée, this has a deep aromatic presence that's more herbal and smoky, with lifted violets and smoky bacon. Medium-bodied, with super smooth tannins that coat the palate. Perfectly balanced acidity and just slightly warming alcohol. An exquisite Saint-Joseph. Tasted non-blind.

Le Clos exhibits its usual exceptional balance this year: it's very ripe in fruit but slender on the palate, with tannins like 100% cacao. Bright, firm acids bring a perfect sense of balance. A panther of a wine.

I love the nose! It bursts out of the glass, so distinctive, so complex - tangy blackberry, juniper, burnt herbs and pine resin. Only light-bodied, but great impact and intensity, pinpoint acidity, tight, textural tannins that provide plenty of grip. Explosively aromatic, so lip-smackingly delicious that it puts many a Côte-Rôtie to shame. From the northern part of the appellation, with a large proportion of whole bunch. Tasted non-blind.

Fresh oregano, then deep blackberry fruit on the palate. There's a deep menthol side to the wine, focused acidity and great freshness. The alcohol is gently warming on the long, saline finish. This is excellent - lean and defined, but so vibrant and intense. Le Blanchard is a small vineyard in Chavanay Tasted non-blind.

A savoury, mouthwatering aromatic expression of bay leaves and juniper berries ground into smoked sausage. Medium weight, this is an appetising style with perfectly balanced acidity and tannins that really take root on your tongue. Long, textural, dry finish. Excellent. From 100-year-old vines with no destemming.

All the lieux-dits I tasted that make up this domaine's Saint-Joseph were showing well and expressed their typical characters, this promising to be a precise style with clear, complex aromatics. It's possible that the rose-scented lieu-dit Bachesson component might be bottled separately this year - in which case you should buy it without hesitation.

Light-bodied, but so fresh and perky. Intense violets, a touch of liquorice, all carried by oak spice on very fine tannins. Old vine Syrah grown on muscovite granite in Chavanay, with 20% whole bunch, four weeks maceration and a submerged cap. Aged in demi-muids, 30% new oak.

A classic expression of Saint-Joseph - fruit melded with black olive - this has body but is light in tannin, while the acidity is low but balanced. An elegant, juicy, very drinkable vintage with moderate alcohol, lower than the 2019. The wine had just been transferred to tank post-élevage at the time of tasting, so was showing quite closed; it may well improve and show better after bottling.

Smoky bacon notes on the nose, this is medium-bodied, with expressive, juicy ripe fruit, a savoury slant and no excess sweetness, plus a supporting beam of acidity. Plenty of aroma, structure and local character, this is very good indeed. From 60-year-old vines grown on granite with a large proportion of whole bunch. Good value for a serious Northern Rhône red.

Fresh, herbal nose, neither overly ripe nor extracted. Extremely drinkable, with intense, gently grainy tannins, this has plenty of intensity, energy and texture. It feels alive. From a south-facing parcel of lieu-dit Sainte-Epine on decomposed granite, all bunches were destemmed and the wine was aged for a year in barriques.

Lovely authentic fruit, there's a touch of maltiness in with the blackberry and blackcurrant. Medium-bodied, fresh and aerial in style, with no excess weight or extraction. Grainy, fibrous tannins and a peppering of dried herbs over the top, this is savoury and textural. From a parcel of 40-80-year-old vines at the southern limit of Tournon, grown on granite. 80% destemmed, aged in barriques and demi-muids.

A fairly rich, ripe style of St-Joseph, and one with good freshness. Black olive, a touch of rosemary but no strong whole-bunch aroma. Medium- to full-bodied with good weight of fruit. Lovely succulent tannins with a touch of sweetness from the oak. Grown on granite soils, some vines are in Serrières and some in Chavanay, both south facing. 100% whole bunch, submerged cap for 20 days. Matured for 18 months, of which 12 months was in 500-litre barrels, 20% new, then it was transferred into old barrels.